Traffic Light Takes Charge Of Intersection At Leedmark

September 25, 1991

Once again, machines have replaced human beings, taking work away from at least 12 humans.

But in this case, even the human beings would agree it was a good move.

Leedmark, the new $10-million "hypermarket" in Glen Burnie, has gotten a new traffic light at its entrance on New Ordnance Road in Glen Burnie, replacing off-duty police officers who had been directing traffic there since the store's opening last May.

When the huge department and grocery store first opened, it attracted such a crowd that Leedmark officials thought the added traffic, on an already congested stretch of road, might be dangerous.

So Thomas Lenkevich, president of the Glen Burnie store, hired more than a dozen county police officers to direct traffic seven days a week and set about getting a traffic signal for the entrance.

Leedmark, a French department-store chain, received approval from the State Highway Administration in August to install the light.

Leedmark picked up most of the $76,000 tab, with developers F. J. S. Management and the Ordnance Road Limited Partnership paying for a third of the cost.

In a press releaseabout the installation of the light, Leedmark also announced it had volunteered to maintain a mile-long stretch of New Ordnance Road, between Ritchie Highway and Bay Meadow Drive, as part of Maryland's Adopt-a-Highway program.